shutout

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — For the last few years, Mo’ne Davis has enjoyed her anonymity.

It had been 11 years since Davis was the first girl to pitch a shutout at the Little League World Series when she decided to give pro women’s baseball a shot despite having never played baseball with women before.

It had been five years since she played competitive baseball, and at age 24, she wasn’t sure if a comeback was in the cards.

Then, she decided, why not? After playing flag football last summer, she felt the competitive juices start to flow again, so she entered her name in the Women’s Pro Baseball League draft and became one of the first members of the Los Angeles Queens.

Mo’ne Davis hits during a Women’s Pro Baseball League exhibition game in Fort Myers, Fla.

(Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press)

“I just wanted to try it out,” she said from the warning track at Robin Roberts Field in Springfield, Ill., where the league was set to play its first games this weekend. “I don’t like to go through life regretting anything. I want to make sure I can look back and be like, ‘Hey, I tried it out.’”

Davis won’t be looking to rediscover what made her a sensation all those years ago.

“No matter how many times anyone asks, the answer is gonna stay the same: I’m not pitching,” she said. “I am doing what I want to do. I’m not doing what everyone else wants me to do. So whether you like it or not, I’m still gonna live my life, but I just want to show people, like, I’m gonna go out there and have fun.”

In the 2014 Little League World Series, Davis fired a 70-mph fastball and became the first female pitcher to win a game in the tournament when she tossed a shutout with eight strikeouts in Philadelphia’s opening game against Nashville.

Philadelphia’s Mo’ne Davis pitches against Nashville at the Little League World Series on Aug. 15, 2014.

(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

She played center field for the Hampton University softball team and where she posted a career batting average of .225 with 34 hits, 24 runs and 16 RBIs over two seasons.

Baseball hadn’t been on her radar since she started playing softball in college, but the WPBL changed everything. She said she was “still mad” that she didn’t hit well in the Little League World Series and wants to show off her skills in the batter’s box.

“If I did go pitch more, I would get compared to my younger self more,” she said. “My goal is to do what I want to do, not to be compared to my 13-year-old self, and let people know that I’ve grown. I’m an adult woman now, so you have to separate the two.”

That Little League run led to her being on the cover of Wheaties boxes and Sports Illustrated and becoming one of the most well-known female athletes of her era. She grew up wanting to play basketball and dabbling in football, but she has been the de facto face of women who play baseball without picking a bat up for a half-decade.

Mo’ne Davis throws out the ceremonial first pitch prior to a Dodgers game on Nov. 17, 2014.

(Mark J. Terrill/AP)

Though some of the attention on her is “annoying,” channeling her competitiveness into a professional sport was an opportunity she wouldn’t miss.

“She’s been in the spotlight most of her life,” Queens third baseman Ashton Lansdell said. “People kind of expect her to be this celebrity person, and she’s honestly just such a chill girl. Like she just wants to be a normal person. It takes her a little bit to warm up to people, I think because she’s been in the spotlight her whole life, so maybe she can be a little shy at times. But when she starts breaking out of her shell, she’s awesome.”

The Queens selected Davis with the 10th pick in December’s draft after she participated in the league’s tryout last August.

In April, Davis signed with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Banana Ball League, where she got in some innings as a relief pitcher. The Clowns are a revival of a 1940s and 1950s barnstorming Negro League team that included Toni Stone, the first woman to play in a professional men’s baseball league.

Former MLB center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. has been a mentor for Davis, and she said working with him and other Banana Ball players helped her develop her “baseball IQ.”

“It’s such an honor to be able to learn and soak up how she carries herself and, like, what she’s learned from her careers,” Queens outfielder Brittany Apagar said. “The exposure she’s gotten exposes us as well.”

Davis, who has degrees from Hampton and Columbia, became the third person from that Little League team to be drafted professionally, joining Scott Bandura (San Francisco Giants, now in triple A) and Jared Sprague-Lott (Athletics, now in class A).

But once again, Davis finds herself in the middle of history. This time, she’s not alone in making it.

“I try to protect my peace,” she said. “I don’t want my teammates to look at me any differently. … I don’t want them to look at me as like, ‘Oh, she’s only here for this.’ … I want them to know I’m here for you guys. I’m here to, you know, win games with you guys, and I’m here for the team.”

Son Heung-min scored a goal for the second consecutive game, Denis Bouanga added a goal, and LAFC beat Real Salt Lake 3-1 on Wednesday night.

Hugo Lloris, who leads MLS with nine shutouts this season, had six saves for LAFC (9-5-3).

Son, who scored his first goal this season Friday in a 3-0 win over the Galaxy, opened the scoring in the 11th minute. The 34-year-old forward pushed the ball wide to his left to create space from a defender and then blasted his next touch inside the near post from the end of the penalty arc.

Mathieu Choiniere played a ball ahead, the last of four consecutive first-touch passes by LAFC, to Bouanga, who raced to the center of the area, cut back to evade a defender and fired a shot into the net to make it 2-0 in the 40th.

DeAndre Yedlin’s own goal capped the scoring in the 68th minute.

Lukas Engel, a 30-year-old defender in his second MLS season, scored his first career goal in the 86th minute for RSL (8-5-2). Rafael Cabral had one save.

PHILADELPHIA — Dylan Cease struck out the side in the first inning, combining with 10 relievers on a three-hitter in a show of pitching dominance that led the American League to a 4-0 win over the National League in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game.

All-Star most valuable player Cody Bellinger hit a two-run single and Ben Rice followed with an RBI single in the first against Cristopher Sánchez of the host Philadelphia Phillies.

Miguel Vargas of the Chicago White Sox added an eighth-inning home run off the Dodgers’ Justin Wrobleski, who was pitching on his 26th birthday, for the game’s only extra-base hit. Wrobleski struck out five in two innings.

The AL won for the 18th time in 23 games and holds a 49-45-2 advantage overall.

Singles by Juan Soto in the fourth, Pete Crow-Armstrong in the eighth and Otto Lopez in the ninth were the only hits by the NL, which failed to advance a runner past first.

Pitchers combined for 27 strikeouts, 15 by AL hurlers.

Cease struck out Kyle Schwarber, Soto and CJ Abrams around a walk in the first inning. He became just the seventh pitcher to strike out three in an All-Star opening inning after Carl Hubbell (1934), Warren Spahn (1949), Jim Palmer (1977), Dave Stieb (1983), Pedro Martinez (1999) and Brad Penny (2006) — four of them Hall of Famers.

Chicago White Sox’s Miguel Vargas is greeted by Detroit’s Kevin McGonigle after homering.

(Matt Rourke / AP)

Parker Messick, Michael Wacha, Joe Ryan, Nick Martinez, Cade Smith, Drew Rasmussen, Jacob Latz, Louis Varland, Aroldis Chapman and Bryan Baker finished the first All-Star shutout since the AL’s 2-0 win in 2013 at New York’s Citi Field.

Some starting star power was missing, with Jacob Misoriowski, Paul Skenes and Shohei Ohtani all unavailable. Just six pitches reached 100 mph, the fewest in an All-Star Game since 2021.

Bellinger and Rice singled on up sinkers from Sánchez, who struggled through a 34-pitch inning that included three hits and two walks.

“It just took me a little time to soak it all in and enjoy it,” Sánchez said through an interpreter.

Some of the festivities before Tuesday’s All-Star game.

(Matt Rourke / AP)

Mike Trout, a 12-time All-Star who hadn’t played in the game since 2019 because of injuries and was the Angels’ only representative, went 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

For the Dodgers, Max Muncy and Andy Pages each went 0 for 2, Freddie Freeman went 0 for 1 with a walk, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto did not pitch.

Early exit

Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero was hit on the outside of his left hand by a 97.6-mph sinker from St. Louis closer Riley O’Brien in the third inning and immediately left the game. The 23-year-old, fourth in the major leagues with 28 home runs, stayed down for a few moments before he popped up and ran straight into the clubhouse. X-rays were negative.

Documenting the day

Managers and starters entered through replica Liberty Bells in front of each dugout, walked to home plate and used a feathered quill to sign an oversized lineup card, as if they were Founding Fathers affixing names to the Declaration of Independence. The dirt was surrounded by 13 stars, one for each of the Colonies.

Mike Trout of the Angels and AL manager John Schneider of Toronto embrace after coming out of a faux Liberty Bell.

(Emilee Chinn / Getty Images)

Fireworks were set off after the fourth inning to a video of Ray Charles singing “America the Beautiful” at Game 2 of the 2001 World Series.

Philadelphia was awarded this year’s All-Star Game in 2019, an unusually long lead time to coincide with the U.S. 250th anniversary. The Phillies hosted the 1976 and ’96 games at Veterans Stadium and the Athletics in 1943 and ’52 at Shibe Park.

Next year’s game is scheduled for the Chicago Cubs’ Wrigley Field for the first time since 1990.

SACRAMENTO — Walbert Ureña and three relievers combined on a five-hitter and the Angels beat the Athletics 7-0 on Saturday night.

Denzer Guzman hit his second home run of the season, Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel each drove in two runs and the Angels (31-47) improved to 2-4 on their trip.

Samy Matera Jr. retired four batters, Ryan Zeferjahn got five outs and Kirby Yates worked the ninth to complete the Angels’ seventh shutout of the season.

Jo Adell and Donovan Walton each had three hits as the Angels bounced back after blowing a late seven-run lead in the series opener Friday.

Ureña (5-5) yielded four hits in five scoreless innings with six strikeouts and no walks. The 22-year-old rookie has gone five innings and given up three earned runs or fewer in 10 consecutive starts, the longest stretch by an Angels rookie pitcher since Ron Romanick accomplished the feat in 10 games in 1984.

The Angels scored twice in the first inning off A’s starter J.T. Ginn to take an early lead.

After failing to score with the bases loaded in the third, the Angels pulled away with four runs in the sixth. Neto hit a two-run double down the left-field line and Schanuel doubled in two runs with a line drive down the right field line

Guzman hit a solo home run off Geoff Hartlieb in the seventh.

Ginn (5-4), who took a no-hitter into the ninth inning in his previous start against the Angels on May 18, gave up four runs and seven hits in 5⅓ innings. Ginn had five strikeouts and three walks.

José Soriano pitched five innings, Denzer Guzman drove in three runs and the Angels extended their winning streak to four games with an 8-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday night.

Jose Siri hit a two-run home run and Donovan Walton had two RBI hits to put the Angels in line for just their second series sweep of the season Sunday.

Soriano (8-4) gave up three hits with two walks and five strikeouts after taking a line drive off his chest and right shoulder area in the first inning. It was Soriano’s first scoreless outing in his past nine starts after he had five over his first six outings of the season.

Griffin Jax (1-5) gave up an unearned run over five innings for the Rays and absorbed a hard-luck loss after giving up five hits with five strikeouts. Jax remained winless in nine starts since moving into the rotation.

Cedric Mullins had two of the five hits for Tampa Bay, which did not collect its first hit off Soriano until Mullins singled leading off the fourth.

The Rays entered the series after a three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox but have lost consecutive games to the Angels, who were tied for the worst record in the American League at the start of play Saturday.

The Angels took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning when Jo Adell scored after Rays shortstop Taylor Walls misplayed a ground ball by Nolan Schanuel.

The Angels added to their advantage in the sixth inning when Guzman delivered a two-out two-run single and Walton followed with his run-scoring double.

Siri crushed a two-run home run to center in a four-run seventh before Guzman and Walton added RBI singles.

Jared Grindlinger is not ready to say goodbye to his friends at Huntington Beach High. The likely first-round draft pick didn’t have to play for the Oilers in the Southern California Division I regional playoffs, let alone pitch. But he did both to help Huntington Beach knock off San Diego Open Division champion Patrick Henry 10-3 on Tuesday.

Grindlinger went four for four, including a home run, and finished with three RBIs. He also struck out five in three innings on the mound. Dane Cunningham had a three-run home run. Huntington Beach advances to play the winner of Wednesday’s game between Corona and Chula Vista Eastlake on Thursday.

Cathedral Catholic 4, St. John Bosco 2: The impressive two-year run of St. John Bosco’s baseball team has come to an end. The Braves had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the seventh but couldn’t push across any runs and were eliminated in a first-round Division I game. They won the Southern Section Division 1 title the last two seasons and the regional title last season.

La Mirada 7, Liberty 6: A three-run seventh inning helped the Matadores enjoy their bus ride home from Bakersfield. The big hit was a three-run home run by Justin Torres. La Mirada will face Cathedral Catholic on Thursday in the semifinals.

Arroyo Grande 4, Loyola 3: An RBI single in the eighth inning by Colton Gotchal pushed Arroyo Grande to victory over top-seeded Loyola in Division 2. Jack Murray had a home run and two RBIs for Loyola.

Newport Harbor 2, Madison 0: Gavin Guy threw the shutout with seven strikeouts.

South El Monte 3, Brentwood 2: South El Monte went on the road and pulled off the upset of Division 6 champion Brentwood. Anthony Mata had an RBI single and Gabriel Canchola limited the Eagles to four hits while striking out nine in six innings.

Westview 7, Carson 1: Leadoff hitter Eli Irvine had three hits for the winners.

North Torrance 2, Bell 0: Seth Narasaki and Joey Banuelos combined for the shutout.

Verdugo Hills 11, Rolling Hills Prep 2: Cutlor Fannon finished with three hits and three RBIs for the Dons.

Lachlan Clark, a senior backup pitcher for Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, wanted the ball so badly Friday against No. 1 Norco that he posted video from his Sherman Oaks Little League days, saying, “Bring it on.”

He more than lived up to the hype, throwing a four-hit shutout with seven strikeouts and zero walks in a 4-0 victory that advances the Knights to next Friday’s Southern Section Division 1 baseball quarterfinals. Notre Dame went 2-0 in Pool A. Norco must win Tuesday against Ayala to avoid elimination. The top two finishers in each pool advance.

Clark, who recently committed to Long Beach State, had been waiting for his turn in the spotlight. The last time he got a chance to shine was in the National Classic when he pitched 6⅔ innings against De La Salle and struck out 10. He thrives under pressure. An injury to Beckett Berg has made him the No. 2 pitcher for the rest of the season.

He was supported by Jacob Madrid, Notre Dame’s catcher who hit his 12th home run. After the game, 10 players went with co-coach Tom Dill to grad night at Magic Mountain.

St. John Bosco 4, Sierra Canyon 3: The Braves won their pool to advance to the Division 1 quarterfinals. A passed ball broke a 3-3 tie in the sixth inning. Noah Everly had two RBIs. Troy Sibolboro came through with 3⅔ innings of scoreless relief. Carl McMullan had two hits and two RBIs for Sierra Canyon, which will play in an elimination game Tuesday against Cypress.

La Mirada 9, Temecula Valley 2: Ian Aguayo hit a two-run home run during a six-run fourth inning for La Mirada, which next plays Huntington Beach.

Cypress 8, Oaks Christian 2: Noah Johnson had three hits to propel Cypress into an elimination game against Sierra Canyon on Tuesday. Tate Belfanti struck out eight in four innings.

Harvard-Westlake 6, Huntington Beach 5: Jake Chung escaped a bases loaded situation in the bottom of the sixth to help the Wolverines win Pool B at 2-0. James Tronstein went three for three, hitting his 10th home run. Jake Kim hit a key two-run home run.

Orange Lutheran 9, Corona 6: The Lancers won Pool D, rallying from a 5-2 deficit. Brady Murrietta hit three home runs and finished with six RBIs.

Ayala 7, Maranatha 6: A Jonah Boyd single in the seventh broke a 6-6 tie and kept Ayala alive in the Division 1 playoffs. Elijah Duarte had two hits and two RBIs.

Corona Santiago 8, Etiwanda 4: Troy Randall had two hits and two RBIs, Max Eldridge homered and Charlie Lemons finished with three hits for Santiago, which will play league rival Corona on Tuesday in an elimination game.

Arcadia 3, Simi Valley 2: Matt Manzo had a walk-off double in the bottom of the seventh for Arcadia in the Division 3 game. Simi Valley lost a home run after Arcadia protested over a lineup error.

St. Francis 4, Crescenta Valley 2: Danny Izaguirre hit a two-run home run, Jake Smith had three hits and two RBIs and Caysen Sullivan threw a complete game as another Mission League team advanced. All seven entrants have won at least one playoff game.

Palos Verdes 7, Pacifica Christian 1: Franco Correa had four RBIs and Kai Van Scoyoc struck out eight in six innings.

Edison 5, Damien 1: Noah Hunter struck out 11 and gave up two hits.

Agoura 4, Oakwood 0: Donovan Anthony struck out 15 with one walk and Tyler Starling and Colton Mellinger homered for Agoura.

Softball

Cypress 4, Fullerton 2: Chach Stamper threw a five-hitter to help the Centurions upset No. 3-seeded Fullerton in the Division 1 playoffs.

Norco 2, Marina 1: The No. 2-seeded Cougars survived on a walk-off single by Leighton Gray in the seventh. Marina offered its expected tough challenge with pitcher Mia Valbuena. Peyton May and Coral Williams combined for 11 strikeouts for Norco.

TORONTO — Dylan Cease struck out 10, reaching double digits for the third time in eight starts this season, and the Toronto Blue Jays stopped a four-game losing streak with a 2-0 win Friday night that sent the Angels to their 14th loss in 18 games.

Angels pitcher Alek Manoah returned from Tommy John surgery that had sidelined him since May 29, 2024, and faced his former team for the first time. The 28-year-old right-hander struck out one in a perfect eighth inning, reaching 93.8 mph with his fastball while throwing seven of 11 pitches for strike.

Cease (3-1) gave up five hits and walked none over seven innings in his 28th double-digit strikeout game.

Toronto (17-21) scored twice in the third on Kazuma Okamoto’s RBI single and Ernie Clement’s sacrifice fly off Reid Detmers (1-2), who gave up two hits and a career-high six walks in 3⅔ innings. The Angels dropped to 15-24.

Louis Varland earned his fifth save with a perfect ninth.

Up next: Angels RHP Jack Kochanowicz (2-1, 3.05) and Blue Jays RHP Trey Yesavage (1-1, 0.96) start Saturday.